On November 26, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Iran was ready to help the United States in Iraq, but only if it pledged to change its attitude and withdraw its troops.

Talabani had been scheduled to fly to Tehran on November 25. But he postponed the visit due to a curfew in Baghdad imposed after a string of car bombs killed more than 200 people on November 23, in one of the bloodiest bouts of violence since the U.S.-led invasion three years ago.